When Nature Calls on the Bus

Staten Island AdvanceBus drivers have to go a long way in between bathroom breaks.

When you gotta go, you gotta go, but what if you're a bus driver with a bus full of angry passengers?

Some road-weary commuters have complained about drivers who have pulled over their buses to run to the restroom. But with traffic as heavy as it has been lately, it's no wonder that even drivers with superhuman bladders of steel sometimes have to stop and take care of business.

Drivers limit their fluid intake while they're working, to avoid needing to stop in the middle of a run, one veteran bus operator said.

But even with the best of intentions, we're all human, and the call of nature is one you can't put on hold.

"We're very careful where we eat and what we do," the driver said. "You don't want to have an accident."

"You could go three or four hours without seeing a bathroom," he said, explaining that bus operators often have a higher incidence of kidney and bladder problems because of the long stretches of time between facilities.

Drivers have time scheduled into their day for regular bathroom breaks, but if a bus arrives late due to traffic, the driver can miss that set-aside time and have to turn around and start their route again with no break.

In that case, drivers can ask a supervisor for permission to take an emergency personal break. They must find a place where they can safely park the bus, and run out to take care of business. There is no time limit for such emergency breaks.

Express bus drivers with longer highway routes have it worst. "From the time you hit the tunnel to the time you hit Hylan Boulevard, there are no bathrooms," he pointed out.

In a real emergency, some drivers might have to pull off the Gowanus Expressway and onto 3rd Avenue to duck into a fast food restaurant to find relief.

Knowing many of those people who seem to have to go every 15 minutes, I wonder, drivers, how do you get through the day? Do you think dry thoughts? Share your secrets here, to benefit anybody left squirming in their seats while crawling through traffic.